Shoe-form.



Patented may 15, I900. E. ANDREWS.

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No. 649,884. Patented may l5, I900 E. ANDREWS.

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(Application filed Apr. 29, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Shasta-Sheet 2.

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STATES PATENT FFICE.

EMERY ANDREXVS, OF KENNEBUNK, illAlNE.

SHOE-FORM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 649,884, dated May 15,1900.

Application filed April 29, 1898. Serial No. 679,166. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EMERY ANDRnWs, a oi'tizen of the-United States,residing at Kennebunk, in the county of York and State of Maine, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Forms, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

The invention is an improvement in bottomless or hollow shoe-forms whichare designed to hold the uppers or vamps of boots and shoes in expandedform during the several stages of finishing the boot or shoe whichfollow the withdrawal of the solid last or while the boot or shoe isexposed for sale; also, an improvement in the process of making suchforms.

The invention will be described first with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which I have illustrated a form made in accordance with myinvention, and afterward the distinguishing and characteristic featuresof the invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawings, Figure l is a view showing the said form in sideelevation. Fig. 2 is a view thereof in section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1looking in the direction which is indicated by the arrows at the ends ofsuch line. Fig. 3 is a view of the form, showing it inverted andflattened out. Fig. at is a view of the form, looking at the larger endthereof, showing the same in the shape which it tends normally toassume.

Hollow or bottomless shoe-forms of this same general character have beenmade heretofore, and various materials-suoh as leather, leather-board,and fe1t--have been used in the production thereof. The general use ofsuch forms, however, has been restricted by the cost of the articles asolfered on the market, due either to the cost of the material or theprocess of manufacture. Leather-board is comparatively inexpensive andhas qualities which render it desirable as a material of which to makethe forms; but there are difficulties attendant upon its employmentwhich enhance the cost of production of the forms. Leather-board is soelastic in its nature and so comparatively difficult to set into thedesired shape of a shoe-form by a mold ing operation whenintroclucedinto the molds or dies in a dry condition that in order tomold a blank of dry leather-board into the shape of a form and cause itpermanently to retain such shape it becomes necessary to subject thesaid blank to heavy and long-continued compression. It has been proposedin order to avoid such extent of compression to moisten the blank. Inthe first case the necessity for a comparatively-long continuance of thecompression limits the rate and greatly in creases the cost ofproduction. In the case of a moistened blank, while it more readilyassumes the desired shape of the form, nevertheless if removed from themolds before having become dry it will shrink and warp out of shape inthe course of the drying. This renders the rate of productionexceedingly slow and necessitates the employment of a great number ofdies, which enhances materially the cost of production of the forms. Theforegoing disadvantages are experienced in the case of other materialsthan leatherboard.

One object of my invention is in part to cheapen the cost of productionby simplifying and expediting the process of manufacture. To the latterend I aim to enable the blank to be used in a dry condition and also toenable the form to be given its permanent shape by a compression ofbrief duration.

Another object of the invention is to im prove the character of thefinished form.

My invention consists in certain features of construction which improvethe character, strength, and durability of the form and at the same timeexpedite the molding operation by enabling the blank to assume morereadily than heretofore the desired shape of the finished form, andwhich also enables the blank to be molded in a dry condition and to beremoved at once from the molds or dies Without tending to departsubsequently from the proper shape.

The invention consists also in an improved process of manufacture.

1 designates in its entirety the form which is illustrated in thedrawings. It corresponds with the vamp portion of the shoe, into whichit is introduced, and it is composed, chiefly, of a sheet or blank ofsuitable material to which is given at the outset substantially theoutline that is presented in Fig. The final.

into a shoe its sides are compressed or fiat tened together more orless. Subsequently the elasticity of the form causes its sides to spreadapart within the shoe. I usually aid the elasticity of the sheet ofmaterial of which the bodyof the form is composed by applying to-theunder side of the said sheet springs (herein designated 2 2) eachconstituted by by a strip ofsteel that is affixed by rivets 3 3 .to theunder side of the sheet of material. By means of this elasticity it ispossible to employsuch forms in almost any size of boot or shoe withincertain extreme limits.

Animportant consideration is the fact that it is-difficult when dealingwith the heavy, comparatively-unyielding, and dense material of whichthe body of the form is composed to depress the said bodyalong themedian ridge sufficiently to form the required concavity 4 and at thesame time to dispose of the displaced or surplus material. I havesucceeded in effecting this in a practical and satisfactory manner andin rendering the forward portion of the form self-adjusting byslottingthe blank along the median line thereof throughout the length ofthe concavity or depression 4. The existence of the slot enables theedges of the slot to adjust themselves by movement inwardly toward eachother as they are depressed when compression is applied in the moldingoperation.

There is consequently no outward displacement of surplus material, andhence the blank takes precisely the intended form without tendency tothe production of wrinkles, bunches, or protuberances. Preferably Iremove sufficient of the material of the blank to dispose of the surplusmaterial which would have a tendency to accumulate at or near the medianline in the process of molding. This removal produces an approximatelyoval or elliptical slot 71 in theblank like that which is represented inFig. 3, the said slot being of such width that the edges thereof afterthe molding lie in the line of the concavity 4. After the molding theedges of the said slot lie in close proximity to each other in the form.

For the purpose of assisting in retaining the form in shape andpreventing the material of which the body thereof is composed fromgradually losing its shape and flatteningout after the removal of theform from the molds or dies I apply tothe blank, at or near the edgesthereof, metallic strips 81 81. I find it advantageous to supply thesestrips to the edges of'the slot 71 as well as to the exterior edges ofthe body of the form. These strips are composed of a suitable ductile ornon-resilient material having capacity for retaiuing the shape which isgiven thereto. The strips applied to the exterior edges of the formextend from near the bend or middle of the toe portion thereof to nearthe bend or middle of therear portion thereof, a break being leftbetween their proximate ends at each extremity of the form to permit orfacilitate the bend ing of the latter. The said strips are shaped toconform to the contour of the finished form.

It is' advantageous'to so apply the said shaping-strips as that they mayserve also as covers for the edges of the body of the form and protectand finish such edges. Therefore, preferably, they are made U shaped incrosssection and are caused to receive and clasp the edges to which theyare applied. They are secured in place in convenient manner, as bycompressing them upon the said edges.

I have learned through practical experience in the production of theform hereinabove described that it is not advantageous to first mold theblank into shape and then apply the shape-retaining strips. It is verydifficult to do this on account of the resiliency of the material of thebody of the form, which on leaving the mold tends to resume its originalfiat shape. After various trials and experiments I have discovered thatthe form in its most complete and perfect shape can be mostconveniently, expeditiously, and economically produced by first cuttingthe sheet of mate rial into the required outline and forming the slot 71therein, then binding the edges, and after applying and securing thebindingstrips effecting the molding, bending both the said sheet ofmaterial and the metal strips into the desired shape of the form atthe'same time, whereby the metal strips, being of nonresilient material,hold the blank in the form given it by the molds. The great advantagewhich is incident to the use of the metallic shaping-strips is the factthat in consequence of being themselves molded into proper shape theyact to hold the form from departing from the shape that is given by themolds or dies. It is no longer necessary to depend upon subjecting theform to long-continued and excessive pressure within the molds for thepurpose of causing the same to become set in shape. A moderate andreasonablybrief period of compression answering to cause the blank andits applied metal strips to conform fully to the molds or dies is allthat is necessary.

I prefer to use as material for the form a moderately-soft fiber-board,which, with the assistance of the shaping-strips,'will retain the shapegiven by the molds or dies, and after the molding to apply to the formsa suitable stifiening and waterproofing solutionsuch, for instance, asone composed of rosin dis solved in naphtha.

I claim as my invention-* 1. The improved molded bottomless shoeformcomposed of a sheet of fibrous material having ductile or non-resilientshaping and binding strips secured along the edges thereof,substantially as described.

2. An improved molded bottomless shoeform composed of a sheet of fibrousmaterial some of which is cutout or removed along the median line of oneportion of the sheet to form an opening or slot, as 71, the said formbeing provided with ductile or non-resilient metallic shaping andbinding strips along its edges and about said opening.

a. An improved molded bottomless shoe

